Automated Markerless Extraction of Walking People Using Deformable Contour Models

We develop a new automated markerless motion capture system for the analysis of walking people. We employ global evidence gathering techniques guided by biomechanical analysis to robustly extract articulated motion. This forms a basis for new deformable contour models, using local image cues to capture shape and motion at a more detailed level. We extend the greedy snake formulation to include temporal constraints and occlusion modelling, increasing the capability of this technique when dealing with cluttered and self-occluding extraction targets. This approach is evaluated on a large database of indoor and outdoor video data, demonstrating fast and autonomous motion capture for walking people

Using a damper amplification factor to increase energy dissipation in structures

AbstractFluid dampers are an important tool for dissipating unwanted vibrations in a range of engineering structures. This paper examines the effects of amplifying the displacements transferred to a non-linear damper, to increase the effectiveness of the damper in a range of situations commonly encountered in civil engineering structures. These include, (i) the ability to “fine tune” the required damping for a particular size damper, (ii) the ability to have a set of the same size dampers, but with different amplification factors to achieve a specific damping task, and (iii) to increase the sensitivity of the damper to small movements which effectively extends the range over which the damper works. Through numerical simulations and experimental tests conducted on a non-linear damper, we quantify the potential advantages of adding an amplification factor and the range of parameters where the benefit to this device is significant. The example of a two-storey structure is used as a test case and real-time dynamic substructuring tests are used to assess the complete system performance using a range of different amplification factors. The results show that the structural performance is most improved for frequencies close to resonance and that the amplification factor has an effective limit that for the case considered in this study is of approximately 3. The effects of the mechanism compliance are also assessed

Supporting brace sizing in structures with added linear viscous fluid dampers: A filter design solution

Viscous fluid dampers have proved to be effective in suppressing unwanted vibrations in a range of engineering structures. When dampers are fitted in a structure, a brace is typically used to attach them to the main structure. The stiffness of this brace can significantly alter the effectiveness of the damper, and in structures with multiple dampers, this can be a complex scenario to model. In this paper, we demonstrate that the effects of the brace compliance on the damper performance can be modelled by way of a first-order filter. We use this result to formulate a procedure that calculates the stiffness required by the supporting brace to provide a specified effectiveness of the damping action. The proposed procedure assumes that viscous dampers have been sized in a previous design step based on any optimal methodology in which, as is usually the case, the presence of supporting braces and their dynamic effects were neglected. Firstly considering a one degree-of-freedom system, we show that the proposed method ensures a desired level of damper efficiency for all frequencies within a selected bandwidth. Then the analysis is extended to the case of multi-degree-of-freedom systems to show that the design criteria can be applied in a straightforward and successful manner to more complex structures

A smart environment for biometric capture

The development of large scale biometric systems require experiments to be performed on large amounts of data. Existing capture systems are designed for fixed experiments and are not easily scalable. In this scenario even the addition of extra data is difficult. We developed a prototype biometric tunnel for the capture of non-contact biometrics. It is self contained and autonomous. Such a configuration is ideal for building access or deployment in secure environments. The tunnel captures cropped images of the subject's face and performs a 3D reconstruction of the person's motion which is used to extract gait information. Interaction between the various parts of the system is performed via the use of an agent framework. The design of this system is a trade-off between parallel and serial processing due to various hardware bottlenecks. When tested on a small population the extracted features have been shown to be potent for recognition. We currently achieve a moderate throughput of approximate 15 subjects an hour and hope to improve this in the future as the prototype becomes more complete

Robust Measurement Feedback Control of an Inclined Cable

International audienceConsidering the partial differential equation model of the vibrations of an inclined cable, we are interested in applying robust control technics to stabilize the system with measurement feedback when it is submitted to external disturbances. This paper focuses indeed on the construction of a standard linear infinite dimensional state space system and an H_infinity feedback control of vibrations with partial observation of the state. The control and observation are performed using an active tendon

Partial synchronization of non-identical chaotic systems via adaptive control, with applications to modelling coupled nonlinear systems

We consider the coupling of two nonidentical dynamical systems using an adaptive feedback linearization controller to achieve partial synchronization between the two systems. In addition we consider the case where an additional feedback signal exists between the two systems, which leads to bidirectional coupling. We demonstrate the stability of the adaptive controller, and use the example of coupling a Chua system with a Lorenz system, both exhibiting chaotic motion, as an example of the coupling technique. A feedback linearization controller is used to show the difference between unidirectional and bidirectional coupling. We observe that the adaptive controller converges to the feedback linearization controller in the steady state for the Chua– Lorenz example. Finally we comment on how this type of partial synchronization technique can be applied to modeling systems of coupled nonlinear subsystems. We show how such modeling can be achieved where the dynamics of one system is known only via experimental time series measurements

Some recent developments in inerter-based devices for vibration mitigation

Reducing the effect of unwanted vibrations is an important topic in many engineering applications. In this paper we describe some recent developments in the area of passive vibration mitigation. This is based on a new device called the inerter which can be exploited in a range of different contexts. In this paper we consider two recent examples; (i) where a flywheel inerter is combined with a hysteretic damper, and (ii) in which a pivoted bar inerter is developed for a machining application. In both cases, experimental test results show that the devices can outperform existing methods

Ageing simulation of a hydraulic engine mount: a data informed finite element approach

Hydraulic engine mounts are key elements in an automotive vehicle suspension system that typically experience a change of their designed function during their working lifetime due to progressive material ageing, primarily from the elastomeric component. Ageing of the engine mount, resulting from severe and continuous mechanical and thermal loads, can have a detrimental impact on the ride and comfort and long-term customer satisfaction. This paper introduces a new practical methodology for simulating the ageing behaviour of engine mounts resulting from the change in properties of their elastomeric main spring component. To achieve this, a set of dynamic mechanical thermal analysis tests were conducted on elastomeric coupons taken from a set of engine mounts with different service and ageing conditions. These experimental results were used to characterise the change in mechanical response of the elastomer and to build up an empirical elastomer ageing model. Then a finite element model of the main spring was developed that used the elastomer ageing model so that the ageing behaviour of the engine mount could be simulated. The resulting ageing model was verified by using experimental results from a second batch of ex-service engine mounts. The results show an increasing trend of the vertical static stiffness of the engine mounts with distance travelled (or age) up to a certain distance (approximately 95,000 km). The trend is then reversed and a softening effect is observed. Moreover, the results reveal that both the maximum stiffness value and the distance travelled at the peak stiffness decrease as the temperature increases

Control-based continuation of unstable periodic orbits

Copyright © 2010 American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME)We present an experimental procedure to track periodic orbits through a fold (saddle-node) bifurcation and demonstrate it with a parametrically excited pendulum experiment where the tracking parameter is the amplitude of the excitation. Specifically, we track the initially stable period-one rotation of the pendulum through its fold bifurcation and along the unstable branch. The fold bifurcation itself corresponds to the minimal amplitude that supports sustained rotation. Our scheme is based on a modification of time-delayed feedback in a continuation setting and we show for an idealized model that it converges with the same efficiency as classical proportional-plus-derivative control